Charles Ellicott Commentary Song of Solomon 1

Song of Solomon 1:1 contains the title of the book: literally, A song of the songs (Hebrew, Shîr hashîrîm), which is Solomon's, that is, of which Solomon is the author. This has been understood as meaning “one of Solomon’s songs,” with allusion to the 1,005 songs (1 Kings 4:32) which that monarch composed. But when in Hebrew a compound idea is to be expressed definitely, the article is prefixed to the word in the genitive. So here it is not merely “a song of songs” (compare holy of holies), that is, “a very excellent song,” but “The song of songs,” that is, the most excellent or surpassing song. For the question of authorship and date of the poem, see Excursus I.

Love. — Margin: loves, that is, caresses or kisses, as the parallelism shows. The Septuagint, followed by the Vulgate, read breasts (probably dadaï instead of dôdaï), which is the origin of many fanciful interpretations: for example, that the two breasts are the two Testaments that breathe love, the first promising and the second revealing Christ.

This reading of breasts is condemned by the obvious fact that the words are not spoken to but by a woman. The change of persons, from second to third, does not imply a change of reference or speaker but is an enallage frequent in sacred poetry (Isaiah 1:29; and others).

Instead of “Let him kiss me,” many prefer the reading “Let him give me to drink,” which certainly preserves the metaphor (compare Song of Solomon 7:9). This metaphor is exactly that of Ben Jonson's:

“Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I’ll not ask for wine.”

Because of the fragrance. —The general sense of this verse is clear, though grammatical difficulties make the literal translation doubtful. It should be divided into three clauses, not into two only, as in the Authorized Version: “Because of their odor (or, with regard to their fragrance) your ointments (are) sweet.” There is no authority for taking riach = sense of smell, or we would naturally translate, “to the smell your ointments are sweet.” The rendering of the next clause, “your name is (like) oil poured forth,” is to be preferred, though it necessitates making either shemen = oil, or shem = name, feminine, for which there is no example, since the alternative, which takes tûrak = poured forth, as second person masculine instead of third person feminine, is harsh: “You are poured forth like oil with regard to your name.” The image is an obvious one . There is a play on words in shemen and shemka.

Virgins.—Heb., alamôth; young girls. (See Note, Song of Solomon 6:8.) Those who understand Solomon to be the object of the desire expressed in these verses understand alamôth to mean “the ladies of the harem.” In the original, these three verses clearly form a stanza of five lines.

The king hath brought me. —The dramatic theory of the poem (see Excursus II.) has been largely built up on interpretations given to this verse. We understand it as a repetition, in another form, of the protestation of love made in Song of Solomon 1:1–3. Like them, it forms a stanza of five lines.

The clause, “the king hath brought,” etc., is—in accordance with a common Hebrew idiom where a hypothesis is expressed by a simple perfect or future without a particle (Proverbs 25:16)—to be understood, “Even should the king have brought me into his chambers, yet our transport and our joys are for you alone; even then we would recall your caresses, those caresses which are sweeter than wine.”

The upright love thee. —The marginal reading is they love thee uprightly. The Hebrew word, meysharîm, is used in other places either (1) in the abstract, as “righteousness,” etc., Psalms 17:2; Psalms 99:4; Proverbs 8:6 (so the Septuagint here); or (2) adverbially, Psalms 58:2; Psalms 75:3 (and Song of Solomon 7:9 below; but there the Lamed prefixed fixes the adverbial use).

The Authorized Version follows the Vulgate, Recti diligunt te, and is to be preferred, as bringing the clause into parallelism with the concluding clause of Song of Solomon 1:3: “You who have won the love of all maidens by your personal attractions, have gained that of the sincere and upright ones by your character and your great name.”

As the tents of Kedar — that is, Dark as the Kedarite tents of black goats’ hair, beautiful as the royal pavilions with their rich hangings. For a similar style of parallelism, compare Isaiah 15:3: On her housetops, and to her open streets, every one howleth, descendeth with weeping. For Kedar, see Genesis 25:13.

As the poet puts this description of the lady’s complexion into her own mouth, we must understand it as a little playful banter, which is immediately redeemed by a compliment. It also prepares the way for the reminiscence of an interesting passage in her early life. See next verse.